The New England Patriots will be without Julian Edelman when they visit the Buffalo Bills this Sunday.
The 34-year-old wide receiver underwent a procedure on his knee Thursday and is expected to miss time, a source confirmed to NESN’s Doug Kyed. Edelman did not practice Thursday.
The Athletic’s Jeff Howe was the first to report Edelman would miss time due to his injury.
Edelman’s knee has been an issue throughout the season. He has been limited in nearly every Patriots practice and has played just 61.2 percent of offensive snaps through six games.
Fellow receivers Damiere Byrd (92.5 percent) and N’Keal Harry (71.2 percent) both have seen significantly larger workloads.
Edelman tallied a career-high 179 receiving yards in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks but has been quiet otherwise, totaling just eight catches on 21 targets for 79 yards and no touchdowns over his last four contests.
With Harry also missing the last two practices as he recovers from the concussion he suffered in last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Patriots could enter Sunday’s vitally important game in Buffalo without two of their top three wideouts.
Without Edelman and Harry, New England would be left with Byrd, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski, plus practice squadders Isaiah Zuber, Kristian Wilkerson and Mason Kinsey.
Byrd has 18 catches for 233 yards this season. Meyers hardly played until last week, when he caught four passes for 60 yards after Harry went down. Olszewski primarily has been a kick/punt returner, playing just 10 offensive snaps with one reception since returning from injured reserve.
The Patriots currently sit at 2-4 and have scored just 28 points over their last three games, all losses.
